Abstract : Twenty-three prepared salads were obtained from military installations in selected geographic areas of the United States. These were examined microbiologically on arrival at USAMRNL and weekly thereafter for five weeks. Emphasis was placed on the detection and enumeration of food-borne pathogens. The few pathogens initially detected rapidly died off; however, yeasts and molds, as well as other microorganisms reflected by the Standard Plate Count, proliferated to extremely high levels in shrimp, macaroni, carrot and rasin and egg salads. Sixty-four salads and specialty items were surveyed for compliance with Army and Air Force Exchange Service (AAFES) microbiological limits. Standard Plate Count violations occurred in 15.6% of the samples, coliform violations in 21.8% of the samples, and yeast and mold violations in 45.3% of the samples. On a combined basis, 56.3% of the samples failed to comply with AAFES microbiological limits. (Modified author abstract)